hello. welcome to "newsline." it's tuesday, october 9th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. central bank and business leaders from more than 180 countries are gather k here in tokyo. they're attending the meetings of the international monetary fund and the world bank. imf representatives are

releasing their latest global economic outlook. they lowered their growth forecast by 0.2 percentage points to 3.3%. the report says economic decline is especially serious in southern european countries despite policies to address the credit crisis. it also points out the european credit uncertainty is slowing growth in developing countries. emerging and developing countries will grow by 5.3%, it se. it says japan and the united states should see 2.2% growth. imf analysts are saying it should is grow to 3.6% next year. but still poses a threat to the global economy. analysts a at the world bank have cut their forecasts for growth in east asia. they say china's slowing economy will have a weakening effect across the region.

the bank's latest report projects 7.2% growth this year across 14 countries. that's 0.4 percentage points lower than the forecast in may. the region includes china but not japan. the report says china's domestic demand is sluggish and says europe's credit crisis has hurt exports throughout the region. world bank analysts say growth in east asia will rise to 7.6% next year. they say china will pick up steam and demand will grow in southeast asia. they're also being cautious. they know continuing risks to east asian economies. members of the nobel committee have honored two men who they say revolutionized our way of understanding how cells and organisms work. shinya yamanaka proved cells can be changed into immature stem

cells which can then be used to form all the tissues of the body. >> the nobel society has today decided to award the nobel prize in physiology or medicine 2012 jointly to john b.gergen and shinya yamanaka. >> he is 50 years old. he's a professor at kyoto university. he established the method to produce ips cells. they're capable of becoming specialized cells which can then be used to create tissues such as heart muscle. he succeeded by introducing four types of genes to cells removed from parts of the body. he reported success with mice in 2006 and a year later generated human ips cells.

john gergen was the first to hiypothesize that genomes would -- 40 years wlaert yamanaka confirmed and expapded on his thesis. creating and reproducing diseased cells in the lab. members of the nobel committee says their work has made an important contribution to new medical research. professor yamanaka spoke about his nobel prize win at kyoto university. >> translator: i am very happy about receiving this prize. but at the same time i feel a great sense of responsibility.

ips is a new technology and it has a lot of promise in the field of medicine and the development of new drugs. i want to continue this research. now that i have received this honor, i would like to -- or i feel i must contribute to society as soon as possible. >> professor yamanaka also says he's honored to be awarded the prize aside gerden. >> yamanaka's work was a major breakthrough. primarily because it showed that you could derive embryo cells

from adult cells simply by adding the right combination of genes. >> the announcement of the nobel prize in literature is scheduled for this thursday. japan's murakami is one of the writers favored to win the award. delegates from more than 170 nations have gathered in india to talk about biodiversity. the united nations holds the conference every two years. delegates at the 2010 talks graed on rules for sharing economic benefits from genetic resources. the nagoya protocol included ways to safeguard. they set a target of conserving 17% of land and 10% of coastal and marine areas by 2020.

but many governments have yet to pass laws enforcing the protocol. some developing countries say they can't afford to implement the policies. the apartments participants are into it. have begun 11 days of joint exercises. the drills are taking place near islands at the center of a territorial dispute between china and the philippines. the drills began monday on the western coast of luzon island facing the south china sea. 3,800 personnel are taking part in this year's exercises. that's 800 more than last year. a filipino military leader suggested the numbers reflect a growing security threat in the region. >> and i'm confident that they shall result in the partnership that is enduring that we shall be prepared to face the present

and emerging maritime challenges in this part of the region. >> the philippines is engaged in territorial disputes with china over the islands. chinese patrol boats are preventing philippine boats from reaching the shore. australian prime minister hatz urged japan to sign a trade agreement. gillard spoke in sydney to support the anniversary of the japan/australia business conference. >> japan is a critically important economic partner for australia and will remain so in the future. but in a dynamic and changing region, it's time to take the next step. it's time to seal the deal on the free trade agreement.

>> gillar did said australia and japan must work together. she says she wants to use the g20 summit and the asia pacific economic cooperation forum to work with japan on security issues. japan's trade minister is asking the indonesian government to think of a plan to ban exports of ores and nickel. edino met for the economy in tokyo. indonesia plans to ban exports of 14 types of ore from 2014. japan uses nickel ore to make stainless steel. hata says he hopes his government will boost stris. he asked for edino's understanding. indonesia put an export tax on

the ores earlier this year. they failed to narrow their differences but agreed to continue talks over the issue. some children wake up and cringe at the thought of heading into the schoolyard. they know that bullies are waiting for them. we have two reports on how schools in two countries australia and the u.s. are tackling the problem. first nhk world reports from sydney. >> reporter: this high school in south australia has set up a program to get students to confront the issue of bullying. and look at the way to tackle it. >> what kind of characteristics might a person have that leads them to get bullied a lot? a reason? >> sexuality. >> reporter: professor ken rigby

is one of the leading thourts on bullying. he's been asked to lead a class addressing the issue. he gets the students to give their opinions on why bullying happens and how they can stop it. >> what might he do? what might he say? stop. yes. what else? you look for a teacher. yeah. >> reporter: professor rigby says bystanders play a key role in stopping bullies. >> the research showed 50% of the time the bullying stops. when they do say something, then the bullying is likely to stop. >> notify someone else about it. it's the easy way to get rid of it, prevent it in the future.

>> i think that they took the matter very seriously, came up with sensible suggestions. if they are keen on trying to do something about bullying, that can make a massive difference. >> most u.s. states have enacted laws against bullying. so educators there are taking a different approach. here's the view from new jersey. >> reporter: in new jersey, a new anti-bullying law took effect from september 2011. under the state law is bullying reserved, school staff are to look into it immediately, notify the parents, and take steps to tackle it. east hanover middle school had set up messages on the new anti-bullying bill of rights. the school counselor was

appointed last year at the school's an -- as the school's anti-bullying specialist. >> so this is, like, my anti-bullying bible. where i have all my information. >> reporter: the law requires each school district to create its own anti-bullying program. the program sets out detailed procedure to follow when bullying occurs and steps for dealing with the bully. when bullying is reported, she and others begin an investigation and contact the offender. they also contact afterschool counseling. the law even stipulas that the student can be suspended or expelled and the case reported to police if it's serious. >> the benefit about this law is that it's a must.

so every school district has to handle and report in the same way. so there's no gray area and it's not something that's subjective. >> japan has no laws dealing with school bullying. local governments have started passing regulations to address the issue. they're informing educators, parents and others in the community they have a responsibility to protect children. now let's take a look at the market figures.

space exploration has entered the commercial era. a ship built by a u.s. company has blasted off with supplies for astronauts in orbit. the craft is taking over for the space shuttles and taking private enterprise where it's never gone before. here's the story. >> three, two, one. >> reporter: engineers at the u.s. firm spacex developed the unmanned dragon capsule. they launched it from florida. the rocket separated on schedule ten minutes after liftoff.

dragon is cruising towards the space station. it's due to dock in three days, 400 kilz meters above the earth. it's carrying nearly a ton of food and experimental equipment. spacex is the first company to handle a supply mission. its contract with nasa is worth $1.6 billion. 11 more dragons are scheduled to fly. the dragon capsule is now headed towards the international space station. but nasa is no longer alone in space. countries like china and india are racing to catch up. with spacex, nasa is now free to focus on its new mission. reaching to mars. >> what i call a historical event in the space flight. it marks the initial start of flights by american companies operating out of u.s. space ports like the one here in

florida. >> reporter: bolden said nasa needs to spend funds carefully. america needs to nurture the next generation to keep their leadership in development of space. nhk world, florida. emergency crews who responded to a highway accident in southeastern china ended up going into a risky situation. a gas with liquefied gas overturned. then it blew up killing three firefighters. it flipped in a city in the west of hunan the province. the firefighters who died in the fire had just arrived on the scene. smoke fills the picture. then orange flames are visible just before the explosion. the blast scattered debris and shook the camera.

local reports say the tanker was carrying about 18 tons of liquefied natural gas and was still burning a day after the explosion. bangkok's china town is home to one of the biggest communities of overseas chinese in the world. the area has stood near the end of the river for more than 200 years. food and architecture make it a big tourist attraction. but the community is under threat as bangkok rushes to modernize. >> reporter: the local name for bangkok's chinatown. the area was founded in the late 18th century in one of the oldest parts of bangkok. many of the buildings in chinatown have historical value. but parts are under threat. bangkok plans to ease the city's

traffic congestion. many old buildings are slated for demolition. today the demolition has already started. some locals are being forced to evict from their homes. they've been here for generations. 68-year-old kun is being evicted from her house where she sells chinese wedding decorations. the family has been here for at least nine generations. her home is scheduled to be demolished to make space for a new subway station. many of her neighbors have already moved, but she and her family are still here. they're asking relatives for somewhere to stay. she will lose the family business making it harder to earn a living. >> translator: the first time i opened my eyes, i was already

here. my ancestors lived here. it's not just sad, it's devastating. for our entire family, the community is broken. i feel like my whole world has disappeared. >> reporter: several concerned parties attend a meeting to discuss the eviction plan. citizens groups, human rights representatives, the subway operator, and construction company take part. community leaders urged to keep the destruction of old buildings to a minimum. after three hours, the parties remained deadlocked. there's no change to the existing plan. >> translator: this area needs to be protected because it's a national treasure. urbanization should go hand in hand with preservation of traditional lifestyles and

culture. we also have to take into consideration the area's traffic problems. a solution is needed. >> reporter: komkai is ready to move. the family had years of history in this place. it's the day of the move festival, one of the biggest events in the chinese calendar. the festival a precious chance for komkai to spend time with her neighbors. >> translator: i feel both happy and sad at the same time because in the future we might not get a chance to meet like this again. i really hope the chinese community can continue to get together wherever we go. so we don't forget our traditions. >> reporter: this historical community will soon be separated. komkai prays for luck and good

fortune as she prepares for new life away from chinatown. nhk world, bangkok. tokyo residents are wearing warmer clothes as they make their way to work or school today. sayaka mori joins us now with the world weather forecast. sayaka, it's feeling really chilly this morning. will it be like this for the rest of the day? >> it was really cool this morning. i wore a jacket on my way to work. the temperature was only 16 degrees as of 4:00 a.m. today. much colder in hokkaido. below freezing temperatures. frost advisories are in place. the reason is that we had clear conditions and less windy conditions. that led to overnight cooling. today will be the same story. we'll see clear skies throughout the day today. out west, this is a low pressure system producing very heavy snow and widespread showers that will be moving towards the korean

peninsula. down towards the south, tropical storm gaemi made fall on saturday. it has been weakened and reached the sea. bringing in drenching rain in the southern half of myanmar and parts of thailand. now east there is a typhoon coming in. it's now a very extra strong typhoon. gusts of 108. it's going to strengthen into a strong typhoon by friday morning. we're not sure where the system is going at the moment. we'll keep you posted on the progress. temperatures are looking like this. 22 degrees in seoul. but should be cooling down into the upper teens as the rain comes in on wednesday. tokyo nice and comfortable, 23 degrees. and out west just on target in ulaanbaatar.

in the americas we can see tropical storm olivia. it will become a tropical depression by tonight and continues to head toward the west. meanwhile a potent storm is tracking over the great lakes bringing in snow showers. the heaviest snow is going to be found in parts of ontario. rain will also go soo is the mississippi river valley into tomorrow. and back behind the cold front, fire weather risk in parts of wyoming, eastern nebraska, southern minnesota as well as iowa into tonight. and out towards the east, heavy rain showers along the eastern seaboard will gradually weaken into tonight. as it does, very cool air coming from the north. so frost advisories. freeze warnings are posted in the appalachians. temperatures are looking like

this. only 15 degrees expected in washington and chicago at 19 degrees. but will be cooling down into 11 degrees on wednesday and only five degrees in winnipeg. you may see snow flurries on tuesday night. let's go over to europe then. a strong low bringing in snow showers and heavy rain. making its way towards the battlic states. and to the south, moderate to heavy rain will be shifting towards southern germany. and thunderstorms in italy. eastern turkey and western russia will make its way towards the east. temperatures are looking seasonal in many locations but the exception is going to be the siberian peninsula. here's your extended forecast.

some animal lovers in manila took poisonous creatures to church. >> catholics were marking the patrons saint of animals. the priest blessed the pets of more than 100 people. he touched their heads and splashed them with holy water. most were dogs or cats. but some were more exotic. tarantulas, geckos. one showed up with his pet around his arm. the priest said he would bless any animal. catholics say the saint loved all creatures. and that's all for this

edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us. we'll be back with more of your updates at the top of the hour.